## Facts

- Record companies sued Joel Tenenbaum under the Copyright Act for downloading and distributing 30 copyrighted sound recordings via peer-to-peer networks without authorization.
- The district court entered judgment against Tenenbaum on liability, and a jury found the infringement willful.
- The jury awarded $22,500 per work, totaling $675,000, within the statutory damages range for willful infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c).
- After trial, Tenenbaum sought a new trial or remittitur; the district court reduced the award to $67,500 on due process grounds without first deciding remittitur.
- Sony appealed the reduction; Tenenbaum cross-appealed, challenging liability, damages, and the statute’s constitutionality; the United States intervened to defend the statutory scheme and argued for constitutional avoidance.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court erred by reaching a constitutional due process ruling and reducing statutory damages without first addressing common-law remittitur.
2. Whether asserted trial errors and challenges to the Copyright Act required a new trial or otherwise undermined the liability and willfulness determinations.
3. Whether the statutory damages scheme was unconstitutional as applied to Tenenbaum’s conduct.

## Decision

- The First Circuit rejected Tenenbaum’s challenges to liability, willfulness, and alleged trial errors, and affirmed denial of a new trial.
- The court held the district court erred by bypassing common-law remittitur and deciding the constitutional due process question.
- The court reversed the damages reduction, reinstated the jury’s $675,000 award, and remanded for the district court to consider remittitur in the first instance.
- The court noted that the case raised policy concerns about statutory damages in file-sharing contexts, but treated any broad revision as a matter for Congress.

## Legal Principles

- Under constitutional avoidance, a court should resolve disputes on non-constitutional grounds when available before reaching constitutional questions.
- When excessiveness of a statutory damages award is alleged, common-law remittitur must be considered before deciding whether the award violates due process.
- Statutory damages for willful copyright infringement set by 17 U.S.C. § 504(c) are enforceable within the congressionally prescribed range, subject to ordinary post-trial review mechanisms.

## Conclusion

The First Circuit reinstated the jury’s $675,000 statutory damages award for willful infringement and required the district court to address remittitur before any due process ruling, applying constitutional avoidance and leaving broader concerns about statutory damages levels to the legislative process.


Sony BMG Music Ent. v. Tenenbaum, 660 F.3d 487 (1st Cir. 2011)